Sacco and Venzetti

Sacco & Vanzetti

Innocent or guilty?

In the 1920's, everyone's question was, are Sacco and Vanzetti murderers? But for today's world, everyone's question is, who Sacco and Vanzetti?; and what do you mean innocent or guilty? What they do? Well, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo

Vanzetti were two Italian men that were accuse of the murder and robbery of Frederick Parmenter and Alessandro Berardelli in Braintree, Massachusetts.

On Thursday, April 15, 1920, it was pay day for the Three-K shoe factory. Every Thursday, a 9:18 train from Boston comes in with about $30,000 in payroll money for the two shoe factories. Shelly Neal, the local American Express Company agent in Braintree, collected the payroll money and headed back to the office, she noticed a dark blue-touring car but couldn't see into the car to see who it was.

Frederick Parmenter just lefted the office with the payroll money (was a paymaster) and just was about to distribute money to the workers, well they intended to anyways. That was until shots ran out. First the guard (Alessandro) was shot, and then they took Alessandro Berardelli's gun, which was .38 caliber revolver. Next, of course, was Parmenter, and then took the money and ran off to their blue touring car where they suddenly went off and disappeared.

Two days after the crime, a dark blue Buick was found in the woods in West Bridgewater, with its license plates gone. They determine that the car was involved in the Braintree murder.

On the day of the Braintree crime, they noticed an employee of the shoe factory was set for deportation to Italy. He had quit his job as well, and did not show up for his deportation and claimed he needed time since his wife was sick. When a police officer investigated they found that his wife was not ill in the first place. Also when agents suggested that Coacci leave some money behind for his wife and children; Coacci replied that they didn't need any. He had finally left on April 18.

In the investigation, they went through to see who could have been involved, and most likely was a "Italian", since everyone believe the Italians were such bad people back then. (At the time, Italian anarchists ranked at the top of the government's list of dangerous enemies, and had been identified as suspects in several violent bombings and assassination attempts [even an attempted mass poisoning])

The questions busted lose on whether this man Coacci might have been involved in the murders. Bridgewater Police decided to return to Coacci's so called home to see what was what. When he arrived, a man named Mike Boda (landlord) greeted Stewart, and allowed him to look through the house and the rear shed. Boda explained that he kept his car, an Overland, in the shed, but that it was currently being repaired at the Elm Street Garage. Stewart also noticed tire imprints and were about right size for a Buick (too large for a Overland.)

Then three days later, Stewart had came back to look for Boda again, but only found that he had ran off and as well with all his house furnishings. Stewart stopped by the Elm Street Garage and discover Boda's Overland was still in the shop. So he told the garage owner that if anyone were to try to pick up the Overland, he should call the police immediately.

On May 5, a little after nine o'clock, a man knocked on the door of Johnson's home. Ruth Johnson, Simon's twenty-one-year-old wife, answered the door. The man said he was Mike Boda and that he'd come to pick up his auto. Remembering Stewart's instructions, Ruth called the police. When Ruth left, she was caught in the headlight beam of a motorcycle parked outside the Johnson home. Ruth noticed two men, talking in what she thought was Italian (of course.) in the meantime, Johnson was trying to delay Boda. He told him that he would take him to the garage as soon as his wife returned with the milk she had gone to borrow from their neighbors. Boda seemed uneasy. Then, as Ruth Johnson walked back to her house, he suddenly took off, climbing into the sidecar of the motorcycle. Two other men, started walking away in the direction of the streetcar line--and at 9:40 those two men boarded the car from Bridgewater.